Review of EliteSerien (Norway) 2023 - Part I
Norway is a country with deep roots in sports. Despite not being a top nation in football, they have produced talents like Erik Thorstvedt, John Arne Riise, John Carew, Steffen Iversen, Tore André Flo and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. After failing to qualify for any major competition since 2000, the NFF - Norges Fotballforbund (or Norway’s Football Federation) restructured the football competitions and player development in the country. Nowadays, according to the NFF, there are 480 000 football players (all ages) in Norway. This represents almost 9% of the population. In more recent years the Norwegian football has developed some good talents, among them Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland.
The Eliteserien is the Norwegian top tier league and is usually played between April and the beginning of December. It has a set of rules that makes the League interesting to find talent. The teams must have between 20 and 25 players. There is a minimum of 16 homegrown players (2 of which must be club grown), thus a maximum of 9 foreign grown players per season.
Despite the Norwegian being more enthusiastic about the Premier League and the stadiums being small, this year the attendances reached 64% of stadium occupation. This creates a good environment and motivates the players.
Being an attractive market and because the most important transfer window is in the Summer for the main European Leagues, the Norwegian teams often lose their best players or young talents in the middle of their season. The teams must replace the players who left with new ones, but the money received is important to reinvest and keep the clubs afloat.
The Norwegian football has been developing and evolving in the last ten years, now standing in 15th in UEFA’s country ranking. The Eliteserien is played by 16 clubs, where the squads are constituted by a mixture of experience and youth. Most of the Stadiums have synthetic pitches.
In a football championship, being able to have stability and maintaining the key players is essential. This season, unsurprisingly, Bodø/Glimt’s dominated the League from day one. Having maintained the most of their key players and having been able to prepare others to replace them was crucial. The team is balanced, consistent and dominant. The individual quality of Pellegrino (24 goals*/14 assists*), Grønbæk (9 goals/7 assists) and Berg (6 assists/7.4 possession recoveries per game) was critical to achieve success.
Brann finished 2nd after being promoted last season (was playing in OBOS-Ligaen or second tier last season). They showed a very intense playstyle with high pressure, quick reaction to ball possession and with much mobility in the front. An intense team, both defending and attacking based on a zonal positioning and always working as a block. Nilsen (9 goals / 3.2 tackles per game*/ 9.3 possession recoveries per game) was the pilar of the midfield and Finne (16 goals / 9 assists), with good movements, was troublesome to the opposition’s defenders.
Tromsø finished 3rd, achieving its best position in 10 years. A disciplined, patient and pragmatic team. They showed high teamwork and work rate that helped them in finishing with the best defence of Eliteserien. Gundersen (4.2 clearances per game/ 61% total duels won) gave solidity in the back while Erlien (15 goals/ 22% goal conversion) was clinical in the front.
On the negative, Molde finished 5th after being champion in the previous season. Rosenborg, the most titled club in Norway, finished in a modest 9th position after being 3rd last season. The historic Vålerenga ended in the 14th position, being relegated in the play-off (was 6th last season) after 22 years in Eliteserien.
In a top tier with few financial resources, scouting for talent and developing players are essential. Thus this “Part I” serves its purpose to give context to the “Part II” where the focus will be on the players.
